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Flexibility and intensity of global water use

Author

Listed:
  • Yue Qin

    (University of California, Irvine)

  • Nathaniel D. Mueller

    (University of California, Irvine)

  • Stefan Siebert

    (University of Bonn
    University of Göttingen)

  • Robert B. Jackson

    (Stanford University)

  • Amir AghaKouchak

    (University of California, Irvine
    University of California, Irvine)

  • Julie B. Zimmerman

    (Yale University
    Yale University)

  • Dan Tong

    (University of California, Irvine)

  • Chaopeng Hong

    (University of California, Irvine)

  • Steven J. Davis

    (University of California, Irvine)

Abstract

Water stress is often evaluated by scarcity: the share of available water supply being consumed by humans. However, some consumptive uses of water are more or less flexible than others, depending on the costs or effects associated with their curtailment. Here, we estimate the share of global water consumption over the period 1980–2016 from the relatively inflexible demands of irrigating perennial crops, cooling thermal power plants, storing water in reservoirs and supplying basic water for humans and livestock. We then construct a water stress index that integrates the share of runoff being consumed (scarcity), the share of consumption in these inflexible categories (flexibility) and the historical variability of runoff weighted by storage capacity (variability), and use our index to evaluate the trends in water stress of global major river basins on six continents. We find that the 10% most stressed basins encompass ~19%, 19% and 35% of global population, thermal electricity generation and irrigated calorie production, respectively, and some of these basins also experience the largest increases in our identified stress indexes over the study period. Water consumption intensities (water used per unit of goods or service produced) vary by orders of magnitude across and within continents, with highly stressed basins in some cases characterized by high water consumption intensities. Our results thus point to targeted water mitigation opportunities (for example, relocating crops and switching cooling technologies) for highly stressed basins.

Suggested Citation

  • Yue Qin & Nathaniel D. Mueller & Stefan Siebert & Robert B. Jackson & Amir AghaKouchak & Julie B. Zimmerman & Dan Tong & Chaopeng Hong & Steven J. Davis, 2019. "Flexibility and intensity of global water use," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(6), pages 515-523, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natsus:v:2:y:2019:i:6:d:10.1038_s41893-019-0294-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-019-0294-2
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    Cited by:

    1. Jesus Arellano‐Gonzalez & Frances C. Moore, 2020. "Intertemporal Arbitrage of Water and Long‐Term Agricultural Investments: Drought, Groundwater Banking, and Perennial Cropping Decisions in California," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(5), pages 1368-1382, October.
    2. Laluet, Pierre & Olivera-Guerra, Luis Enrique & Altés, Víctor & Paolini, Giovanni & Ouaadi, Nadia & Rivalland, Vincent & Jarlan, Lionel & Villar, Josep Maria & Merlin, Olivier, 2024. "Retrieving the irrigation actually applied at district scale: Assimilating high-resolution Sentinel-1-derived soil moisture data into a FAO-56-based model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    3. Hou, Peng & Liu, Lu & Tahir, Muhammad & Li, Yan & Wang, Xuejun & Shi, Ning & Xiao, Yang & Ma, Changjian & Li, Yunkai, 2024. "Effect of fertilization on emitter clogging in drip irrigation using high sediment water: Perspective of sediment discharge capacity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    4. Hou, Peng & Ma, Changjian & Wang, Jia & Li, Yan & Zhang, Kai & Hou, Shance & Li, Jingzhi & Sun, Zeqiang & Xiao, Yang & Li, Yunkai, 2024. "Failure behavior of pressure compensating emitter under different operation pressures in drip irrigation systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    5. Kelley, Jason & Olson, Bailey, 2022. "Interannual variability of water productivity on the Eastern Snake Plain in Idaho, United States," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    6. Koen De Vos & Charlotte Janssens & Liesbet Jacobs & Benjamin Campforts & Esther Boere & Marta Kozicka & David Leclère & Petr Havlík & Lisa-Marie Hemerijckx & Anton Van Rompaey & Miet Maertens & Gerard, 2024. "African food system and biodiversity mainly affected by urbanization via dietary shifts," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 7(7), pages 869-878, July.
    7. Rosa, Lorenzo & Sanchez, Daniel L. & Realmonte, Giulia & Baldocchi, Dennis & D'Odorico, Paolo, 2021. "The water footprint of carbon capture and storage technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    8. Shen, Yan & Puig-Bargués, Jaume & Li, Mengyao & Xiao, Yang & Li, Qiang & Li, Yunkai, 2022. "Physical, chemical and biological emitter clogging behaviors in drip irrigation systems using high-sediment loaded water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    9. Mae A. Davenport & Amelia Kreiter & Kate A. Brauman & Bonnie Keeler & J. Arbuckle & Vasudha Sharma & Amit Pradhananga & Ryan Noe, 2022. "An experiential model of drought risk and future irrigation behaviors among central Minnesota farmers," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 1-16, March.
    10. Eekhout, J.P.C. & Delsman, I. & Baartman, J.E.M. & van Eupen, M. & van Haren, C. & Contreras, S. & Martínez-López, J. & de Vente, J., 2024. "How future changes in irrigation water supply and demand affect water security in a Mediterranean catchment," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    11. Julia Terrapon-Pfaff & Sibel Raquel Ersoy & Thomas Fink & Sarra Amroune & El Mostafa Jamea & Hsaine Zgou & Peter Viebahn, 2020. "Localizing the Water-Energy Nexus: The Relationship between Solar Thermal Power Plants and Future Developments in Local Water Demand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-23, December.

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